Chapter V

ROLE OF RIICO AND RFC IN THE PROMOTION OF

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN RAJASTHAN

(i) INTRODUCTION

Emancipation of women has been talked of, moving out of the purdah systems and

going in for higher education were and are some indicators of them being emancipated, but

the emergence of women on the economic scene as entrepreneurs can be heralded as a

significant development in their emancipation and securing for themselves a secure place in

society which they long deserved. “In the present times, they are increasingly becoming

conscious of their existence, their rights to work and to lead a respectable life. Today women

entrepreneurs represent a group of women who have broken away from the beaten tracks and

are exploring new avenues of economic participation.”1

Earlier, marriage was the only career for most women. When they did come out, it

was in areas such as teaching, office work, nursing, and medicine, if we take the self-

employed women they consisted of only five percent. The majority of the self-employed

women were engaged in the unorganized sector, such as handicrafts, handloom and cottage

based Industries. The eighth-five year plan had given impetus to the development of the

small-scale sector. The numbers of small-scale units were expected to increase from one and

a half million to two and half million during the period 1992-1997 of which nine percent

would be women. This trend augurs well for women, because this indicates that by the turn of

the century women’s participation would increase by twenty percent in the small-scale units2.

An ideal climate has been launched for the Indian women entrepreneurs, to exhibit

their talents; it is for the government to take up the responsibility to improve a lot of women

in economic life and to prepare them to participate in industrial estates as entrepreneurs,

which the Indian women must be ready to reach out for new jobs, new responsibilities and

new experiences.

Promotion of women entrepreneurs needs a prolonged approach. They should come

out of their traditional occupation to accept more challenging activities. Simultaneously, an

environment should be created to enable their participation. This can be done by motivating

them, and get funding agencies to finance them through financial institutions and banks,

which should be on priority basis and concessional terms, the elaborate procedure of

licensing and government sanctions associated with the establishment of a new business

enterprise should be dispensed with, in the case of application received from women

entrepreneurs. In recent years, the problems of women in economic field received a lot of

attention at the national as well as international level. The United Nations declared the period

1975-85 as the ‘Decade for Women’. ‘Role of women in industrialization in Developing

Countries’ held at Vienna from the 6th to 10th November 1978, identified several constraints

that stood in the way of women and also the effective participation of women in the

industrialization of developing countries.

In India, several institutional arrangements have been made to protect and develop

women entrepreneurship. The nationalized banks and state financial corporations advance

loans to women entrepreneurs on preferential basis. State Industrial Development

Corporations and district centers provide loans, subsidies and grants to small-scale women

entrepreneurs. State level agencies assist women entrepreneurs. India has been developing

fast, but not always equitably or inclusively. Our development model is very much a work in

progress and deep-rooted challenges remain. Across the world, educating and empowering

women has proven time and again to be the catalyst for rapid socio-economic growth.

Conversely, societies where women are repressed are among the most backward. India seems

to be somewhere in-between.

Women in India make up 7.5% of the world’s total population. While certain

development indicators show their quality of life is improving – maternal mortality rates

declining; literacy rates increasing; more women gaining access to healthcare and education –

the pace of change is heartbreakingly slow. India ranks 113 out of 135 on the World

Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index. According to India’s 2011 census, the sex ratio for

children under six was 914 females to 1,000 males, a disturbing decline from 927 in 2001.

The ranking of Indian women in economic empowerment is 0.3, where 1.0 means equality.

This is a dangerous state of affairs for any society. Denying women opportunities to

realize their potential is a waste of human capital and bar to economic progress. Women are

undoubtedly the foundation of the basic unit of society – the family. Even in traditional roles

they demonstrate great innovation, skills, intelligence, hard work and commitment. If we can

harness these attributes effectively, India’s growth can be more inclusive and equitable. The

education of women is therefore the key. But in a country where nearly 70% of the

population lives in rural areas, access to educational opportunities is limited. Moreover,

poverty puts the girl child at a greater disadvantage. Added to this, the social attitude towards

women, and it is obvious that we need a multi-pronged approach if we are to achieve

education for women worldwide.

This is where technology or E-education can help. E-infrastructure can deliver

relevant education to both sexes in an efficient and equitable manner, enabling our youth to

leapfrog into the Internet age. When we educate and empower one woman, we set off a chain

reaction that transforms the life of her family and the community she lives in. An exemplary

model is the network of trained Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), created under

the National Rural Health Mission, who has played a crucial role in improving the health of

women and children across India.

Vocational training is equally important to women’s economic independence. The

inspirational efforts of the Self-Employed Women’s Association, founded by Ela Bhatt, and

other successful self-help groups, have sowed the spirit of entrepreneurship in hundreds of

women. SEWA’s women members are trailblazers, redefining themselves as they add value

to their families and the nation. This kind of female empowerment can transform India.

Societal perception towards females and their role are often the biggest barriers to change,

because they shape women’s perception of themselves. Across all strata of Indian society,

people still believe that women are capable of performing only certain types of jobs and that

marriage must take precedence over career.

This mind-set, common to both men and women, must change. We must focus on the

girl child and help her escape the traditional stereotypes that stifles her potential. Take

women in science as an example. The prejudice is that women are less capable of

understanding science, despite all the evidence to the contrary. In preparing project reports,

purchasing machinery, hiring of buildings and training the staff. Several voluntary agencies

like FICCI ladies, National Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (NAYE). In the state of

Rajasthan, it’s the RIICO and the RFC that have helped the women of this state.

The emergence of women on the economic scene as entrepreneurs is a significant

development in the emancipation of women and securing them a place in society, which they

deserved. The hidden entrepreneurial potential of women has gradually been changing with

the growing sensitivity to the role and economic status in society, the recent trend shows that

women are now becoming conscious of their existence, their rights and the work situation

which women from the middle class are not prepared for; such a change, as they feel that it

will have a backlash on them. Today women entrepreneurs represent a group of women who

have broken away from the beaten track and are exploring new avenues of economic

participation.

Recently, the trend has changed where women are contributing to the role as

entrepreneurs in the economic development of the country. Today we find women in various

fields like engineering, electronics, readymade garments, fabrics, edibles, handicrafts, soft

toys, textile and now pharmaceuticals. These are urban educated women, sometimes they

have specialized skills and are equipping themselves with some training and financial

support. Though women entrepreneurship development programmes have been recognized as

human resources development too, many a times there are many expectations from a single

programme, like removing employment, promoting small scale industries, developing

industrially undeveloped regions.

Some recent researches have indicated that several women are now becoming

entrepreneurs especially the middle class women due to pull and push of traditional and

changing values3. Under the pull factors, the women entrepreneurs choose a profession as a

new challenge, as an adventure with an urge to do something new and to have an independent

occupation. Under the push factors women take up business as entrepreneurs to get over

financial difficulties when responsibility is thrust on them due to family circumstances. As

per Indian census report, 1991, women as a separate target group, account for 48.1% of

country's total population. They are regarded as the better half of the society. But their

representation in gainful employment is comparatively low. In most of the developing

countries like India, women were mostly confined to the four walls of the houses performing

household activities. Very few were getting the opportunity to come out of the four walls and

enter economic activities.

(ii) CONCEPT OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

As is already pointed out in the preceding paragraphs, women entrepreneur is

relatively a new concept. Conceptually, whether men entrepreneur or women entrepreneur,

these are not two drastically different concepts from each other. Origin of both the concepts

are from the basic concept of "Entrepreneur." When the enterprise is initiated, organized and

controlled by a man, the person referred is man entrepreneur and when the enterprise is

initiated, organized and controlled by woman, the person referred is woman entrepreneur.

Different individuals/experts defined women entrepreneurs in their own ways. Some of the

definitions of women entrepreneurs are given below. According to Harbision, F (1956) "Any

woman or group of women which innovates, initiates or adapts an economic activity may be

called women entrepreneur." 4

According to National level standing committee on women entrepreneurship.

Government of India, 1991, "an enterprise owned and controlled by a woman having a

minimum financial interest of 51% of the capital and giving at least 51% of the employment

generated in the enterprise to women"5. The above definition is subject to criticism by women

themselves on the ground that employing more than 50% women workers in the enterprises

owned and run by the women is discriminatory and not in tune with practical realities. In

nutshell, women entrepreneurs are those women who think of a business, initiate, own,

organize, operate, employ women and undertake risks (in various terms such a time, money),

involved in running a business and takes it to a height.

Women owned businesses are highly increasing in the economics of almost all

countries. The hidden entrepreneurial potentials of women have gradually been changing

with the growing sensitivity to the role and economic status in society, skills, knowledge and

adaptability in business are the main reasons for women to emerge in business ventures.

Woman entrepreneur is a person who accepts challenging roles to meet her personal needs

and become economically independent. A strong desire to do something positive is an inbuilt

quality of entrepreneurial women, who are capable of contributing values in both family and

social life. With the coming of media, women have now become aware of their traits, rights

and also the work situation. The myth of the glass ceiling is now shattered and today women

have broken barriers, and are found indulged in every field of business from papad making to

electronics. The challenges and opportunities provided to women of digital era are growing

rapidly and jobs seekers are now turning out to be job creators, they are flourishing as

designers, interior decorators, architects, exporters, publishers, garment manufacturers and

are still exploring for new avenues of economic participation. In India, although women

constitute the majority of the total population, the entrepreneurial world is still male

dominated one.

Coming to women in Rajasthan, first and foremost it must be mentioned that

Rajasthan fifty years ago was a very backward State. Till the early sixties free education was

given to women so that they could be educated and come to educational institution. The only

public school was M.G.D. where only the girls from royal families came to be educated,

which was initially a complete residential school. Even the principal was an English lady who

gave education on the western pattern; the teachers were mostly residential who were given

residence along with their meals. The staff were basically English speaking; in a word most

of them being Anglo Indians who could communicate well in English. The same pattern was

for the hostel matrons. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire system was on

the western pattern, which suited the girls from those families. This institution did not cater to

the general masses. Another school was run by the mission sisters of Ajmer, which catered to

the middle class section, but for the girls, here also, there was a school bus, which brought the

girls from their house and back. Two or three government schools were opened, which saw

that girls were brought by tongas and that too with a purdah system and the girls were

motivated to study.

For higher education Maharanis college was started and till the early 60’s, women

now came out for education not only to schools but also to colleges. The early seventies saw

girls in the field of medicine and engineering too. Women in Rajasthan now came to know

about education; in fact their parents too realized that they needed to educate their daughters

and give them a new plank in life be it medicine engineering or even business administration.

The early women in politics were Sumitra Singh and little later came Gauri Punia. After these

two ladies, the 80's and nineties saw a number of entrants into politics.

Chart 5.1

Conceptual Model of women Entrepreneurs

(iii) CATEGORIES OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

• Women in organized & unorganized sector

• Women in traditional & modern industries

• Women in urban & rural areas

• Women in large scale and small scale industries.

• Single women and joint venture.

a) First Category

• Established in big cities

• Having higher level of technical & professional qualifications

• Non traditional items

• Sound financial positions

b) Second Category

• Established in cities and towns

• Having sufficient education

• Both traditional and non-traditional items

• Undertaking women services-kindergarten, crèches, beauty parlors, health clinic etc.

c) Third Category

• Illiterate women

• Financially weak

• Involved in family business such as Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry,

• Dairy, Fisheries, Agro, Forestry, Handloom, Power loom etc.

(iv) MEN AND WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: A

COMPARATIVE STUDY

If we carryout an in-depth analysis of men and women entrepreneurs, we will find

that in spite of many similarities, there are some dis-similarities also. Similarities are stated in

Exhibit 5.1and dissimilarities are stated in Exhibit 5.2

Table 5.1

Similarities in Men and Women Entrepreneurs

SI.

No.

Characteristics Women Entrepreneur Men Entrepreneur

1 Work Desire to work Desire to work

2 Role Will to play a lead role Will to play a lead role

3 Source of Motivation Achievement of goals and money

Achievement of goals and money

4. Personality Objective confidence full of energy

Objective confidence full of energy

SOURCE : Mayoux, Linde (2001) "Jobs, Gender and small enterprises"

Table numbers 5.1 in similarities shows that both men and women have a desire to work will

to play a lead role in their business. They also wants to achieve their goals and earn money.

Finally their objectives is to have confidence and work with energy

Table 5.2

Dis-similarities in Men and Women Entrepreneurs

SI.

No.

Characteristics Women Entrepreneur Men Entrepreneur

1 Employment background House wife Experience of the work

field

2 Source of finance Personal and family/

individual/ joint loan

Personal savings/ bank

loan

3 Source of motivation Will for independence and

flexibility in work schedule

Will to fast increase the

self image

4 Reason of entrepreneurship Involves herself in useful

work, not getting regular

employment, no promotion

avenues

Tension at work place.

Grabbing to opportunity

5 Innovativeness Realistic Innovativeness Ideal innovativeness

6 Associate group Intimate friends, husband

family, women and

organization, wife, family

business and organization

7 Personality Flexible, tolerance,

moderate self confidence,

moderately active

Relatively rigid, high self

confidence, active

SOURCE : Mayoux, Linde (2001) "Jobs, Gender and small enterprises"

Table number 5.2 in dissimilarities shows that women are housewives in comparison to the

men because they are first and foremost home makers. Woman are less independent in

comparison to men. Women are having much realistic approach whereas men have ideal

innovations. if we talk about the personality of man they are rigid, extreme self confidence

and active in comparison to women.

Table 5.3

Percentage Shares of Informal and Formal Sector Workers among

Men and Women, 2004-05

Sl.

No. Industry group

Men Women Persons

Informal Formal Total

sector sector

Informal Formal Total

sector sector

Informal Formal Total

sector sector

1. Agriculture 97.42 2.58 100.00 98.05 1.95 100.00 97.68 2.32 100.00

2. Manufacturing 65.93 34.07 100.00 82.56 17.44 100.00 71.01 28.99 100.00

3. Trade 95.47 4.53 100.00 96.19 3.81 100.00 95.55 4.45 100.00

4. Education 24.99 75.01 100.00 29.14 70.86 100.00 26.73 73.27 100.00

5. Private households & ETOs

99.97 0.03 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 99.99 0.01 100.00

6. Construction 76.99 23.01 100.00 62.81 37.19 100.00 75.52 24.48 100.00

7. Hotels & restaurants

85.22 14.78 100.00 93.22 6.78 100.00 86.75 13.25 100.00

8. Health services 53.97 46.03 100.00 33.73 66.27 100.00 47.13 52.87 100.00

9. Public administration & Defense

0.97 99.03 100.00 0.73 99.27 100.00 0.94 99.06 100.00

10. Real estate, renting & Business services

72.63 27.37 100.00 49.97 50.03 100.00 70.36 29.64 100.00

11. Banking & financial Intermediation

26.39 73.61 100.00 22.53 77.47 100.00 25.84 74.16 100.00

12. Electricity, gas & Water

6.74 93.26 100.00 2.91 97.09 100.00 6.56 93.44 100.00

Source: ILO Sub regional Office for South Asia, New Delhi G. Raveendran 2010 ILO Asia - Pacific Working paper Series Table number 5.3 indicates that in construction, health services, real estate and banking and

finance, men have an edge over Women in formal and informal sector. where as in the sector

of agriculture, manufacturing, education, private house hold and hotel and restaurant women

have an edge over the men.

(v) THE SCOPE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG

WOMEN

Although many women have advanced in economic structures, for the majority of women,

particularly those who face additional barriers, continuing obstacles have hindered their

ability to achieve economic autonomy and to ensure sustainable livelihoods for themselves an

their dependents. Women are active in a variety of economic areas, which they often

combine, ranging from wage labor, subsistence farming and fishing to the informal sector.

However, legal and customary barriers to ownership of or access to land, natural resources,

capital, credit, technology and other means of production, as well as wage differentials,

contribute to impeding the economic progress of women. Women's contribution to

development is seriously underestimated and thus their social recognition is limited. The full

visibility of the type, extent and distribution of this unremunerated work will also contribute

to a better sharing of responsibilities between women and men. Lack of employment in the

private sector and reductions in public services and public service jobs have affected women

disproportionately. In some countries, women take on more unpaid work, such as the care of

children and those who are ill or elderly, compensating for lost household income,

particularly when public services are not available. In many cases, employment creation

strategies have not paid sufficient attention to occupations and sectors where women

predominate; nor have they adequately promoted the access of women to those occupations

and sectors that are traditionally male dominated.

(vi) HOW TO DEVELOP WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS?

Right efforts on from all areas are required in the development of women entrepreneurs and

their greater participation in the entrepreneurial activities. Following efforts can be taken into

account for effective development of women entrepreneurs.

a. Consider women as specific target group for all developmental programmes.

b. Better educational facilities and schemes should be extended to women folk on

government’s part.

c. Adequate training programmes on management skills to be provided to women

community.

d. Encourage women's participation in decision-making.

e. Vocational training to be extended to women community that enables them to

understand the production process and production management.

f. Skill development to be done in women's polytechnics and industrial training

institutes. Skills are put to work in training-cum-production workshops.

g. Training on professional competence and leadership skills to be extended to women

entrepreneurs.

h. Training and counseling on a large scale of existing women entrepreneurs to remove

psychological causes like lack of self-confidence and fear of success.

i. Counseling through the aid of committed NGOs, psychologists, managerial experts

and technical personnel should be provided to existing and emerging women

entrepreneurs.

j. Continuous monitoring and improvement of training programmes.

k. Activities in which women are trained should focus on their marketability and

profitability.

l. Making provision of marketing and sales assistance from government part.

m. To encourage more passive women entrepreneurs the Women training programme

should be organized that teaches them to recognize their own psychological needs and

express them.

n. State finance corporations and financing institutions should permit by statute to

extend purely trade related finance to women entrepreneurs.

o. Women's development corporations have to gain access to open-ended financing.

p. The financial institutions should provide more working capital assistance both for

small scale ventures as well as large scale ventures.

q. Making provisions of micro credit system and enterprise credit system to the women

entrepreneurs at local level.

r. Repeated gender sensitization programmes should be held to train financers to treat

women with dignity and respect as persons in their own right.

s. Infrastructure, in the form of industrial plots and sheds, to set up industries is to be

provided by state run agencies.

t. Industrial estates could also provide marketing outlets for the display and sale of

products made by women.

u. A Women Entrepreneur's Guidance Cell set up to handle the various problems of

women entrepreneurs all over the state.

v. District Industries Centers and Single Window Agencies should make use of assisting

women in their trade and business guidance.

w. Programmes for encouraging entrepreneurship among women are to be extended at

local level.

x. Training in entrepreneurial attitudes should start at the high school level through well-

designed courses, which build confidence through behavioral games.

y. More governmental schemes to motivate women entrepreneurs to engage in small-

scale and large-scale business ventures.

z. Involvement of Non Governmental Organizations in women entrepreneurial training

programmes and counseling.

(vii) DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN

INDIA

Women entrepreneurship development is an essential part of human resource

development. The development of women entrepreneurship is very low in India, especially in

the rural areas. Entrepreneurship amongst women has been a recent concern. Women have

become aware of their existence their rights and their work situation. However, women of

middle class are not too eager to alter their role in fear of social backlash. The progress is

more visible among upper class families in urban cities.

This chapter focuses on women entrepreneurs. Any understanding of Indian women,

of their identity, and especially of their role taking and breaking new paths, will be

incomplete without a walk down the corridors of Indian history where women have lived and

internalized various role models, the status of women entrepreneurs and the problems faced

by them when they ventured out to carve their own niche in the competitive world of business

environment. Since the times of yore, the role of woman in Indian society is known to be that

of a homemaker. Her confinement to her homestead certified her character and morality. The

status of women has undergone a windfall change from what it was in the Vedic age to till the

era of globalization. No nation, other than India has held its women in higher esteem than the

Hindus. In the Vedic era, women were not incarcerated to the precincts of the house. They

were free to attend fairs, festivals and assemblies. They also possessed outstanding academic

outfit. In the post Vedic period, the reins were pulled in, and woman started to lose her status

in society, which she had attained in the Vedic age. She was meant to be protected by the

men - her father, brother and husband. She acquired new identity after marriage. During the

Moghul rule, the socio economic status of women deteriorated a lot. Purdah system, child

marriage and other social evils, which were detrimental to the social status of women, came

into force. During the British rule in India, legislations were enforced to modify the structure

of society. Reforms were initiated for the upliftment of women. In continuation with this,

post independence, at least legally, men and women are considered to be equal. But in reality,

the situation is something different. Outside the educated elite and often within it, girls are

considered as economic liability because of the tradition that requires a girl’s parents to

provide her with a dowry at the time of her marriage. The Indian constitution aimed at

attainment of equal status for women in every sphere of life.

Women constitute nearly half of the total population in India and are regarded as

better half of the society. But for centuries, women were confounded to the four walls of the

houses doing household work at home. Marriage was considered as the only career for most

women. Their main work was to nourish family and upkeep the values of the society. Though

in Hindu scriptures woman had been regarded as "Devi" Laxmi or Grah Laxmi, an

embodiment of Shakti (Durga) but in real Life, she was treated as Abla (weak), passive,

dependent. Since old age women have been victims of social prejudices and discrimination.

Women were taught to depend upon others, to limit their ambitions and to avoid exposure

and risk. Those days society was predominantly a male dominated society. It is with these

reasons that women work force in industry was negligible and their contribution towards

economy was almost, zero.

But with the change of time, particularly after independence there was the recognition

of women power. Women started realizing their own strengths and demanded their

participation in various walks of life. They have started taking up careers in selected

professions such as education, nursing medicine and office work and thus, contributing in

economic activities. But the concept of women entrepreneur had still not emerged. Women

were mostly confined to the activities contributing in other person's (mostly male) industrial

set up. Social development has to be construed along with the economic development and

individual development. Social development is perceived as a subsystem of Human Resource

Development on a national level. Social and economic development go hand in hand, and this

in turn, leads to sustainable development.. For the development of society, it is necessary to

develop the women folk. The advancement of a fraction of Indian women has resulted in

remarkable positive changes in the economic condition of our country, and if there is an

overall development of the women lot, then the positive changes will definitely magnify.

Under the seventh five-year plan (1987-1992), a separate chapter characterizing

integration of women in development was included. It was suggested in this plan that to boost

Indian economy, women should also be promoted to take up economic activities and

contribute their might in this endeavor. Some of the salient feature of this plan was:

(a) To include women as specific target groups in the total development process.

(b) To plan diversity, and conduct vocational training programmes suitable to the needs

of the women.

(c) To provide marketing assistance for their products.

(d) To involve women folk in decision making process.6

Not only in the five-year plan. In industrial policy of Government of India also, the

emphasis was placed for preparing women for taking up initiative in starting small-scale

industries. It was also emphasized to train this group by conducting special entrepreneurship

programmes. The Government of India was so concerned with this sector that in 1981, the 1st

National conference of Women Entrepreneurs was organized in New Delhi, which besides

calling for urgent attention to allocate land, sheds, also suggested speedy sanction of power

and license to run the industry for this sector.

The second International conference of women entrepreneurs organized in 1989 in

New Delhi. It adopted a declaration. Some of the salient points of this declaration were.

a. Promotion of women's involvement in economic development programmes.

b. Provide necessary infra-structural support, training and marketing facilities.

c. Help them removing hurdles by enacting legislation.

d. Products manufactured by women entrepreneurs be widely displayed in trades and

fairs.

(viii) ROLE OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN INDIAN

ECONOMY

The Indian economy has been witnessing a drastic change since mid -1991, with new

policies of economic liberalization, globalization and privatization initiated by the Indian

government. India has great entrepreneurial potential. At present, women involvement in

economic activities is marked by a low work participation rate, excessive concentration in the

unorganized sector and employment in less skilled jobs. Any strategy aimed at economic

development will be lop-sided without involving women who constitute half of the world

population. Evidence has unequivocally established that entrepreneurial spirit is not a male

prerogative. Women entrepreneurship has gained momentum in the last three decades with

the increase in the number of women enterprises and their substantive contribution to

economic growth. The industrial performance of Asia-Pacific region propelled by Foreign

Direct Investment, technological innovations and manufactured exports has brought a wide

range of economic and social opportunities to women entrepreneurs.

In this dynamic world, women entrepreneurs are an important part of the global quest

for sustained economic development and social progress. In India, though women have

played a key role in the society, their entrepreneurial ability has not been properly tapped due

to the lower status of women in the society. It is only from the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-78)

onwards that their role has been explicitly recognized with a marked shift in the approach

from women welfare to women development and empowerment. The development of women

entrepreneurship has become an important aspect of our plan priorities. Several policies and

programmes are being implemented for the development of women entrepreneurship in

India.

There is a need for changing the mindset towards women so as to give equal rights as

enshrined in the constitution. The progress towards gender equality is slow and is partly due

to the failure to attach money to policy commitments. In the words of president APJ Abdul

Kalam "empowering women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation, when women are

empowered, society with stability is assured. Empowerment of women is essential as their

thoughts and their value systems lead to the development of a good family, good society and

ultimately a good nation."7

When a woman is empowered it does not mean that another individual becomes

powerless or is having less power. On the contrary, if a women is empowered her

competencies towards decision- making will surely influence her family's behavior.

In advanced countries, there is a phenomenon of increase in the number of self-

employed women after the world war second. In USA, women own 25% of all business, even

though their sales on an average are less than two-fifths of those of other small business. In

Canada, women own one-third of small business and in France it is one-fifth. Women

entrepreneurship has been recognised as an important source of economic growth. Women

entrepreneurs create new jobs for themselves and others and also provide society with

different solutions to management, organisation and business problems. However, they still

represent a minority of all entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs often face gender-based

barriers to starting and growing their businesses, like discriminatory property, matrimonial

and inheritance laws and/or cultural practices; lack of access to formal finance mechanisms;

limited mobility and access to information and networks, etc.

Women’s entrepreneurship can make a particularly strong contribution to the

economic well-being of the family and communities, poverty reduction and women’s

empowerment, thus contributing to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Thus,

governments across the world as well as various developmental organizations are actively

undertaking promotion of women entrepreneurs through various schemes, incentives and

promotional measures.

(ix) CURRENT STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE JOB SECTOR

According to 2011 census women constitute 48.46% of the country’s population of

1210.19 million (Census of India, 2011).8 They comprise of 96% of the workforce in the

unorganized sector in the country i.e., in fields, construction and other such sectors (Padma,

2004). On the contrary, in the organized sector, the proportion of women stands at 15%. In

the civil services the number of women has raised from 311 in 1985 to 501 in 1996. Women

opt mainly for the diplomatic services or district administration. Only 3.47% of women join

the police force (Census of India, 2011, http://censusindia.gov.in/).

a). GDP RATE & WOMEN’S CONTRIBUTION

India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is $3.548 trillion in 2009 (Manorama Year

Book, 2011). From 2004 till 2010 India’s average quarterly GDP growth was 8.40% (www.

tradingeconomics.com, 2011). The per capita GDP is one of the measure to ascertain the

contribution made by each individual of India towards GDP. According to sources, the per

capita GDP now stands at $3,400 (World fact book, 2010). According to a study “Foresight

2020” conducted by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and sponsored by Cisco systems,

India is projected to contribute 12.2% to global economic growth by 2020. The growth in

women’s employment has been higher as compared to men in India during 2000-2005.

Studies indicate that 34.45% of rural women worked compared to only 20% of urban women.

The vast difference occurs in the category of self employed, where 32% of rural women

work, and compared to just 11% of urban women. Bridging this gap will gramatically.9

Increase India’s GDP. According to UNDP report released on the occasion of

international women’s day on March 08, 2010, if more women work, India’s GDP will raise

by 4%. It can make Indians 5% richer than otherwise projected by 2015 and 12% richer by

2025. With the changing times and globalization, employability has seen an increasing trend.

Owing to the inherent nature of woman which identifies with empathy and benevolence

combined with strong determination and sharp business acumen, many firms have had

significant success with a woman on the decision making chair. Women have proved to be

good team leaders. Indra Nooyi’s climb to the top of Fortune’s 2007 list of powerful women

exemplifies this. The success of brand name firms with women as chief executives has been

impressive. Findings indicate that the Fortune 500 companies with the highest percentages of

women corporate officers yielded on an average 35.1% higher return on equity than those

with the lower percentages(Catalyst, 2004)10. It is generally perceived that women executives

at the top inculcate a sense of balance, intelligence, higher emotional quotient and respect to

the management team. They tend to bring in team spirit and compassion in the workplace.

But in India, this trend has not caught its top gear yet. In Indian corporate sector, women

comprise of 2% of the total managerial strength (Saini, 2006). The kinds of Kiran Mazumdar

Shaw, Naina Lal Kidwai, Sullajja Firodia Motwani, Vidya Chhabria and Indra Nooyi, who

dare to change the rules of the game, are gradually paving their success path nudging aside

the obstacles. The Women’s Empowerment Principles launched in March 2010 by the UN

Global Compact and UNIFEM. Subtitled “Equality Means Business,” offer guidance to

companies on how to empower women in the work place, market place, and community and

emphasize

(x) PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS SUPPORTING WOMEN

ENTREPRENEURS IN INDIA

a) Women's entrepreneurship is a relatively new concept in India. The concern to

develop more women entrepreneurs emerges from the fact that women represent

the fact that women represent 50 per cent of world population, but receive only 10

per cent of the world income and less than 1 per cent of the world's assets. yet,

research has shown that 'women entrepreneurs are no different from men in terms

of their personality cognition, achievement motivation, dependency and other

related attitudes.

b) Efforts have been made by various governmental and non-governmental agencies

all over the world to promote women entrepreneurs. The results are somewhat

encouraging.

c) Entrepreneurship development in India has received much attention during the last

few years. Several policies, programmes, procedures and institutions have been

formulated to support development of entrepreneurship among women in India.

We discuss below these promotional procedures in brief and their implication for

women entrepreneurs:

Chart 5.2

Women's Entrepreneurship — Promotional Measures

Promotional Efforts

Policy framework Programmes supporting Institutional support to supporting women women entrepreneurship women entrepreneurs entrepreneurs

(xi) OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

With increased awareness and globalization, there is constant increase in women

entrepreneurs. A survey conducted for women entrepreneurs reveals that most of women

entrepreneurs are still involved with the food industries at small-scale level. Today

majority of women are having small business of Papad, Acchar, Stitching etc., which

appears to be an extension of food industry started through kitchens. Gradually with the

spread of education and training and having more awareness in variety of fields, women

are showing keen interest in the field of technology, energy related industries. But the

numbers of such women entrepreneurs are negligible. The situation in metro cities is

different. A survey conducted around Delhi clearly revealed that about 40% of women

entrepreneurs are having non-traditional enterprise fields such as electronics, engineering,

consultancy etc. In a state like Kerala where women literacy is very high, women are also

opening up enterprises is non-traditional areas.

(xii) GOVERNMENT SCHEMES FOR WOMEN

ENTREPRENEURS

According to the Third All India Census of Small Scale Industries conducted in

2001-02 and subsequent estimates made, only 10.11% of the Micro and Small Enterprises

in India are owned by women while 9.46% of the MSE enterprises are managed by

women.11 Currently (2006-07) their estimated number is 12.99 lakh women managed

enterprise and 12.15 lakh women managed enterprise. In order to encourage more and

more women enterprises in the MSE sector, several schemes have been formulated by this

Ministry and some more are in the process of being finalized, targeted only at the

development of women enterprises in India.

There are number of schemes launched by Government from time to time for the

promotion of women entrepreneurs in India. In some schemes, there are provisions for

women whereas some are exclusively for women. Few are:

a) Integrated Rural Development programme (IRDP)

b) Training of Rural Youths for Self employment Mission (TRYSEM)

c) National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)

d) State Bank of India's Stree Shakti Yogana (SSY)

e) Women Development Cooperation Schemes (WDCS)

f) Indira Mahila Kendra

g) Rashtriya Mahila Kosh

h) Indira Priyadarshni Yogana

i) Mahila Udhyam Nidhi and Mahila Vikas Nidhi

j) Working women forum

k) Trade related entrepreneurship assistance and development scheme for women (tread)

With a view to encourage women in setting up their own ventures, government implements a

Scheme, namely, “Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development (TREAD)

during the 11th Plan. The scheme envisages economic empowerment of women through the

development of their entrepreneurial skills in nonfarm activities. There are three major

components of the scheme. Government of India grants up to 30% of the total project cost to

the Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) for promoting entrepreneurship among women.

The remaining 70% of the project cost is financed by the lending agency as loan for

undertaking activities as envisaged in the project. Government of India grants up to Rs.1 lakh

per programme to training institutions /NGOs for imparting training to the women

entrepreneurs, subject to these institutions/NGOs bring their share to the extent of minimum

25% of GOI grant and 10% in case of NER. (iii) Need-based Government of India grants up

to Rs.5 lakh to National Entrepreneurship Development Institutions and any other institutions

of repute for undertaking field surveys, research studies, evaluation studies, designing of

training modules etc.

The scheme envisages that Women Associations/NGOs/SHGs should prepare composite

bankable proposals for a group of women entrepreneurs, and submit to the office of the DC

(MSME) for forwarding to the Banks for their appraisal. Bank examines the proposal and

issues approval. 30% of the loan amount is sanctioned as grant and made available to the

bank by office of DC (MSME) for further disbursement to NGOs.

(xiii) WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR ASSOCIATIONS IN INDIA

a. Consortium of Women Entrepreneurs(CWEI)

b. Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of Andhra Pradesh

c. Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE)

d. Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA)

e. Women Entrepreneurs Promotion Association (WEPA)

f. The Marketing Organisation of Women Enterprises (MOOWES)

g. Bihar Mahila Udyog Sangh Bihar Mahila Udyog Sangh

h. Mahakaushal Association of Woman Entrepreneurs (MAWE)

i. SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneurship Council

j. Women Entrepreneurs Association of Tamil Nadu (WEAT)

k. TiE Stree Shakti (TSS)

l. Women Empowerment Corporation

(xiv) ROLE OF RIICO & RFC IN PROMOTION OF WOMEN

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

For woman entrepreneurs the RIICO and RFC has proved a boon, since the last two

years RIICO has given 25% discount to women on land, earlier it was only 10%. This clearly

indicates that RIICO is interested that more women some into the field of business, in a word

giving women a boost.

The RFC has given a 2% rebate to all women entrepreneurs on an loan amount of

rupees five lakhs. This lead start gives women entrepreneurs a chance to start a business, at

least they are not entangled by money lenders, which in turn allows them to make the best of

the loan given to them. If the same amount is taken from some other source, women

entrepreneurs will find it difficult to repay their loan.

The major role of RIICO includes the following:

a) Providing with loans facility : Under the re-finance scheme provided by the Industrial

Development Bank of India, the RIICO extends term loans to every industrial unit up to a

maximum limit of R.2.5 crores.

b) Contribution in share capital of companies: The RIICO provides economic assistance

to companies by contributing to the share capital. Every year, it purchases shares worth

crores of rupees.

c) Interest free loans: The RIICO provides interest free loans to industrial units to meet

their sales-tax liability.

d) Extends loan facility in association with RFC : In association with Rajasthan Finance

Corporation (RFC), the RIICO extends loan facility to industrial units. Sometimes it

associates with commercial banks also in disbursement of loans.

e) Distribution of capital investment grants for setting up new units: On behalf of the

State Government, the corporation distributes capital investment grants to entrepreneurs

who intend to set up new industrial units.

f) Providing with seed capital: Seed capital is provided to experienced entrepreneurs to

set up industrial units in the State. There is a limit of Rs.15 Lakhs in the case of providing

seed capital.

g) Promotion of industrial enterprises: The Corporation promotes industrial enterprises in

association with private entrepreneurs. Such enterprises are known as joint sector

enterprises or enterprises promoted with State assistance. Every year the Corporation

promotes a good number of enterprises.

h) Software Zone: A software premises was developed with the Cooperation of Rajasthan

Electronics and Instrumentation Limited. It is proposed to set up a gold jewellery zone

and an export promotion zone for handicrafts and garments, near Sanganer airport in the

near future.

i) Campaigning towards industrial development: The Business Promotion Unit of

Corporation, in association with the RFC and Directorate of Industries, has initiated a

campaign for industrial development in the state. This has motivated the original residents

of Rajasthan and Non-Resident Indians to set up industries in Rajasthan.

j) Providing with technical and managerial services: The RIICO provides technical and

managerial services to entrepreneurs wherever necessary. Such services include:

providing with technical information relating to project to be set up, brief outline of the

projects, project reports about technical and economical viability, marketing research

report, financial and managerial consultancy etc. This way it extends various kind of

technical assistance to entrepreneurs in setting up new industries in the State.

k) Merchant banking services: The RIICO acts as merchant banker on the basis of

approval granted by Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It acts in different

capacities as Issue Manager, Consultant, Underwriter and Advisor to companies that

subscribe capital from the public, through the issue of shares and debentures.

l) Rehabilitation of sick units: The RIICO, in association with the RFC, take steps for

rehabilitation of sick industrial units. It also operates special plants of rehabilitation in

association with the Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India.

m) Special concessions to entrepreneurs in allotment of lands: The RIICO offers

concessions to special category of entrepreneurs in the allotment of land. The concessions

are granted in the following ways:

(i) 50% concession to SC/ST category of entrepreneurs, subject to a maximum of 4000

square meters of land.

(ii) 15% concession to handicapped category, subject to a maximum of 2000 square

meters of land.

(iii) 10% concession to women entrepreneurs subject to a maximum of 2000 sq. meters of

land.

(iv) 20% concession to those who set up industries in the field of electronics, subject to a

maximum of 2000 square meters of land.

(v) 25% concession to widows of defense personal, subject to a maximum of 2000 square

meters of land.

n) Industrial Area and Other Scheme: Till March-end 2010, as many as 284 industrial

areas have been developed by RIICO. During 2010-2011, some new industrial estates

were developed and other existing industrial areas were expanded further. Special

attention has been given to strengthen the infrastructure facilities in industrial areas

like Bhiwadi; Neemrana, Lalsot, Phulera, Shahpura, Malviya Nagar, Sitapura,

Bindayaka (Jaipur) etc. in the recent past. Neemarana, which is located on National

Highway No. 8, is being developed as a show-window of Rajasthan. Social

infrastructure facilities are being developed in all the potential industrial areas.

Growth-centres are being developed at Abu Road, Bikaner, Jhalawar and Dholpur at

present. During 1997-98, development work of growth centre at Hamirgarh, Bhilwara was

also undertaken. Four districts, viz., Sirohi, Barmer, Churu and Jaisalmer have been declared

as ‘No Industry Districts’ (NIDs). Their development work is in progress. Export Promotion

Industrial Park (EPIP) has been developed at Abu Road, Bikaner, Jhalawar and Dholpur at

present. During 1997-98, development work of growth centre at Hamirgarh, Bhilwara was

also undertaken. Four districts, viz., Sirohi, Barmer, Churu and Jaisalmer have been declared

as ‘No Industry Districts’ (NIDs). Their development work is in progress. Export Promotion

Industrial Park (EPIP) has been developed at Sitapura, South of Jaipur near the Sanganer

airport. The second EPIP is being developed at Boranada (Jodhpur). As indicated earlier the

corporation is developing through REIL a Software Technology Park at Kanakpura, Jaipur.

An Electronic Hardware Pard at Kukas (Jaipur) and Gold Jewellery Complex at Sitapura

(Jaipur) are also being established.

RIICO has initiated a new scheme of ‘Udyog Shri’, the objective of which is to attract

professionals who posses knowledge and experience and entrepreneurial ability to participate

in the process of industrial development through their own ventures. RIICO would provide

equity participation in the share capital of these projects, which would be thrust areas of high

returns. The aforesaid discussion indicates that RIICO is playing the role of a catalytic for

industrial development by developing infrastructural facilities an industrial areas, by

providing financial assistance, specially in the form of term-loans; by trying to attract

investors through industrial campaigns and by preparing project-profiles and reports.

Rajasthan is on the threshold of a turn around in industrial development and all efforts are

made to expedite the process of infrastructural development as a precondition for further

growth in future. Problems of power, water and transport and communications must be

attended to in right earnest and as speedily as possible. There must be genuine efforts towards

industrial liberalization.

TABLE NO. 5.4

LONE SCHEME FOR YOUNG GENERATION MALE & FEMALE

ENTERPRENEURS

1. Name of the Scheme LOAN SCHEME FOR YOUNG/FIRST

GENERATION ENTERPRENEURS

2. Purpose of Loan For setting up a new project (excluding real estate projects) covering investing in land, buildings, plant and machinery, miscellaneous fixed assets, margin money for working capital etc.

3. Loan Limit Maximum term loan of Rs. 1000.00 lakhs.

4. Promoters’ Contribution Minimum 20% of the project cost.

5. Security Margin Minimum 20%

Collateral Security of appropriate amount to be taken to make up for the short fall in minimum-security margin 20%.

6. Interest Rate Prevailing Interest Rate

7. Repayment Period 7-8 years in quarterly installments including moratorium of 1-2 Years.

8. Rebate on Timely Payment As per prevailing Policy.

9. Processing free, Service

Charges and upfront Fee

@ 0.1%, 0.15% and 0.25% respectively on the loan amount.

10. Eligibility Criteria/Norms 1. a) The promoter should have Technical/Professional degree in any field.

OR

b) Any individual promoter whose project/product is recognized from National Innovation Foundation/ any other similar institution of repute in country or abroad.

OR

C) Promoter having experience of at least 5 years in the related field irrespective of their qualification.

2. Promoter who already has any manufacturing unit with investment (project cost) of Rs. 100.00 lakhs and above, shall not be eligible under this scheme.

SOURCE : Loans & scheme from RIICO (2007-2012)

The major role of RFC is described below:

a) To examine the Industrial Potential in the District: - It is the function of the RFC

to examine the industrial potential of every district and set up new industrial units

there. For this purpose it studies the availability of raw materials, cheap labor, basic

facilities available and the availability of entrepreneurs, etc. as the first step.

b) To Develop Infrastructural Facilities: - The RFC provides basic facilities for

industrial set-up. For this purpose, they approach Central and State Government to

construct roads, providing electricity and water supplies etc., which are essential

infrastructure to start with.

c) Encouragement for the Setting up of Industrial Units: - RFC identify

entrepreneurs and encourage them to set up units according to their individual

capacity and interest.

d) To provide common facility: - RFC provide various kinds of assistance to new

entrepreneurs by effective coordination among Department of Industries, Financial

Institutions, Small Scale Industries Service Organization etc.

e) Consultancy Services: - RFC offers consultancy services to entrepreneurs in

connection with preparation of project reports. It also gives managerial and technical

consultancy services, wherever necessary.

f) Registration of Small Units: - RFC offer two types of registrations. First of all, a

temporary registration to avail the promotional assistance from the government and

thereafter for permanent registration, if the concerned unit fulfills all the requirements

desired by RFC authorities.

g) Rapid Industrialization of the District: - RFC aims at faster development of

industrialization in the district. For this purpose, it makes available raw materials,

finance, labor etc. to the entrepreneurs as and when needed.

h) Balanced Development of the District: - The main purpose of setting up RFC is to

promote balanced development of the state. RFC fulfill this object by their various

activities.

i) To organize Training Programme: - RFC organizes training programmes for

entrepreneurs in association with Industries Service Centres. They provide training to

entrepreneurs in respect of product development, pricing, distribution, and finance

and technology matters.

j) Research and Development Activities: - The RFC take much attention in the matter

of research and development, so as to facilitate product diversification, improvement

in quality and production process; packaging etc.

k) Rehabilitation of Sick Units: - It pays much attention to the development of

handicraft industry in the State. For this purpose, it extends financial and technical

assistance to craftsmen for development of this industry.

l) Development of Handicraft Industry: - It pays much attention to the development

of handicraft industry in the State. For this purpose, it extends financial and technical

assistance to craftsmen for development of this industry.

m) To uplift the socially backward people: - Backward classes include S.C./S.T. and

economically backward people. This centre organizes training programme for these

categories on free of charges and provides margin money support to new

entrepreneurs.

n) Collection and Dissemination of Information: - RFC collects various types of

statistics and other information relating to industries and their set up, and provide the

collected information to the entrepreneurs by organizing conferences, speeches,

seminars, workshops etc. from time to time.

a. SCHEME FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO WOMEN

ENTREPRENEURS by RFC

1. Eligibility Criteria: All project mentioned hereunder at (a) to (e) set up by Women

Entrepreneur having minimum promoter share of 51% would be eligible for assistance under

the scheme.

a) New projects in tiny and small-scale sector for manufacture preservation or

processing of goods. (Tiny Enterprises would include all industrial unit and service

industries (except Road Transport Operators) satisfying the investment ceiling

prescribed for tiny enterprise viz. Rs. 5.00 lakh)

b) Existing tiny and small scale industrial units and service enterprises as mentioned

above (including those which have availed of MUN assistance earlier), undertaking

expansion, modernization, technology upgradation and diversification.

c) Sick units in the tiny and small-scale sector including, service enterprises as

mentioned above, which are considered potentially viable. All industrial activities and

service activities (except Road Transport Operators) in the SI Sector.

d) Projects which avail of any margin money or seed / special capital assistance under

the schemes of Central / State Governments, State Financial Corporations and / other

state level institutions or banks (except state Investment Subsidy) are not eligible for

assistance under this scheme.

2. Project cost

a) New Project not to exceed Rs. 10.00 lakhs (including margin money for working

capital)

b) Existing units and service Enterprises Outlay on expansion / modernization,

technology upgradation or diversification or rehabilitation should not exceed Rs.

10.00 lakh per project.

3. Promoter’s Contribution: 10% of the project cost

4. Rate of interest: Prevailing rate of interest as applicable from time to time.

5. Debt Equity Ratio: 1.857: 1

6. Period of repayment: The loan will be repayable over a period not exceeding 10

years including moratorium of 3 years.

7. Security Collateral: Security for atleast 25% of sanctioned amount of term loan in

addition to the first charge of the fixed assets.

8. Application fee under the scheme: the application fees shall be charged 50% for

loan upto Rs. 5.00 lakhs.

b. LATEST SCHEME LAUNCHED BY RFC TO PROMOTE FIRST

GENERATION MALE AND FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS

Yuva Udyamita Protsahan Yojana :

The State Govt. has announced in State Budget that RFC will launch a Scheme in the

name and style of “Yuva Udyamita Protsahan Yojana” for providing term loans for projects

with costs ranging between Rs. 25 lakh to Rs. 100 lakh at minimum rate of interest and on

easy terms & conditions with a view to promote entrepreneurship amongst the youth.

Accordingly, the Corporation has prepared this new scheme for providing financial assistance

during 2013-14, who are at least ITI / Graduate and have innovative ideas but are not in a

position to establish their own ventures because of lack of financial resources. The proposed

Scheme has been framed with the objective to also incubate the youth in the realization of

their innovative but feasible ideas / concepts and to support the same right upto the

production stage. The eligible applicants would be required to apply on-line upto 31st May

2013.

Salient features of the Scheme:

1. That the persons upto the age of 35 (only those born on or after 01.04.1978) and

qualified ITI or Graduate shall be eligible to apply under the scheme. Preference will

be given to the first generation entrepreneurs.

2. All types of projects shall be eligible under the scheme for loans between Rs. 25 lakh

to Rs. 90 lakh, as promoter contribution has to be at least 10% of project cost,

maximum loan can be Rs. 90 lakh.

3. Eligible persons would participate in a competition to win the loans on merits of their

projects. It is expected that about 10,000 or more applications may be received. The

application form will be simple and only brief write-up (maximum 1.50MB) either in

Hindi or in English will be required to be uploaded.

4. In first stage of competition, an independent external panel of eminent persons in the

field of commerce, finance, banking and industry will select the winners. RFC will

finalize this panel and COSIDICI will be associated.

5. Applications will be selected on the strength of their concept and may be awarded

initial prize of Rs. 5,000/- each by 31st July 2013. On submission of DPR (detailed

project report) / Business Plans, they will be eligible for a further sum of Rs. 10,000/-

as hand holding money. These DPRs will be further processed and loan sanction

/documentation will be completed and disbursement will be made accordingly.

6. Rate of interest on loan and Repayment period: @13.50%. However, if project is

implemented within the time period allowed and quarterly installments of principal

sum and interests are also repaid timely then 6% rebate will be allowed on quarterly

basis. Effective Rate of interest will then be @7.50% p.a. (i.e.13.50%-6%=7.50%).

Repayment period will be 7 years including moratorium period of 12 months from

date of first disbursement (i.e. date of execution of loan documents).

7. Promoters contribution: At least 10% of the cost of the project depending on merits of

the project.

8. No loan application fee (Rs. 100/- per lac) and processing charges (0.5% of loan

amount) shall be charged by the Corporation under this scheme (giving further relief

on an average of Rs. 54,000/- per case in loan of Rs. 90 lac).

9. To support and mentor all these entrepreneurs, a dedicated group of RFC officials will

be available. For this purpose, the existing office facilities at Udyog Bhawan will be

utilized. Likewise, RFC will open Facilitation Centres at all Divisional Headquarters

and at Bhiwadi /Delhi / Barmer to facilitate these entrepreneurs.

10. No collateral security will be taken. RFC shall also provide hand-holding support to

the selected prospective entrepreneurs in obtaining allotment of land from RIICO and

other facilities/clearances from different government departments facilities/clearances

from different government departments.

(xv) LOAN SANCTIONED BY RIICO AND RFC TO WOMEN

ENTREPRENEURS

Table 5.5

Loan Disbursement & Recovered by RIICO Rs. in crore

S. No. Year Loan Disbursement Loan Recovered

1 2007-08 394.38 (100%) 284.36 (72.10%)

2 2008-09 643.71 (100%) 583.72 (90.07%)

3 2009-10 269.65 (100%) 390.28 (144.74%)

4 2010-11 1126.04 (100%) 1082.31 (96.12%)

5 2011-12 1279.70 (100%) 918.38 (71.77%)

6 Total 3713.48 (100%) 3259.05 (87.76%)

Source: Finance section of RIICO

Recovery based on Previous year

In the year 2007-08 RIICO disbursed a loan of 394.38 (100%) crore and they recovered

284.36 crore which is 72.10% it means that nearly 28% recovery could meet be made.

Whereas in the year 2008-09 643.71 (100%) crore was disbursed and recovered 583.72 crore

which is 90.07% comparatively better than the previous year. While in 2009-10 269.65

(100%) crore loan was disbursed and 390.28 (144.74%) recovered which indicates this third

year gave the best results as 2010-11 again 1126.04 (100%) was disbursed and that is 96.12%

was recovered. while in the fifth year of which 71.77% was recovered. Therefore it can be

stated that the RIICO did not go into a very big loss it is said and on the margin, it won't be

wrong.

Loan Disbursement

SOURCE: Finance section of RIICO

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

2007-08 2008-09

Chart 5.1

Disbursement and Recovered by RIICO

Finance section of RIICO

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Total

Series1

Series2

Table 5.6

Loan Disbursement and Recovered by RFC Rs. in crore

S. No. Year Loan Disbursement Loan Recovered

1 2007-08 363.37 (100%) 348.92 (96.02%)

2 2008-09 401.19 (100%) 381.27 (95.03%)

3 2009-10 350.64 (100%) 289.94 (82.69%)

4 2010-11 303.47 (100%) 227.61 (75.00%)

5 2011-12 279.18 (100%) 192.35 (68.90%)

6 Total 1697.85 (100%) 1440.09 (84.81%)

SOURCE : Planning & Coordination cell of RFC, Finance section of RFC

Recovery based on Previous year

Table number 5.6 shows In comparison if we take the RFC's loan disbursement from 2007-12

that is five years it will be seen that the first and second year respectively showed a deficit of

4% and 5% loss in return. While in 2009-10 a deficit of 18% and in 2010-11 and 2011-12

show a very depressive figure of 75% and 68.90% recovery. If we analyze the two tables it

will be seen that the rate of recovery is better in the case of RIICO than RFC

Loan Disbursement

SOURCE: Planning and Coordination cell of RFC, Finance section of RFC

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2007-08 2008-09

Chart 5.2

Disbursement and Recovered by RFC

SOURCE: Planning and Coordination cell of RFC, Finance section of RFC

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Total

Series1

Series2

Series3

Table 5.7 Land Rebate to Women Entrepreneurs by RIICO 2007-2012

NAME OF

PLOTS Year Year Year Year Year

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

S.

No Area Acre Lacs Area Acre Lacs Area Acre Lacs Area Acre Lacs Area Acre Lacs

1 Sitapura

(Jaipur) Nil NIL NIL 5 0.67 14.85 Nil NIL NIL 12 18424 79.35 8 19323 127.25

2 Jaipur

(North Zone) 58 4.57 283.78 5 1.73 9.10 Nil NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL

3 Jaipur

(South Zone) NIL NIL NIL Nil NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL

4 Jaipur

(Rural) NIL NIL NIL Nil NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL

Source: RIICO Industrial Land in Jaipur (2007-2012)

Table number 5.7 shows that from the year 2007 to 2012 RIICO provided plots to women

entrepreneurs with the rebate of 2%. In 2007 - 08 no land was given in Sitapura area.

Whereas in the north zone 58 area with 4.57 acre land was given in sum of 283.78 lacs. In the

south zone and Jaipur (Rural) no land was provided. In the year 2008-09, in sitapura 5 areas

with 67 acre land was provided with the amount of 14.85 lacs. Whereas in the north zone 5

area with 1.73 Acre land was given with the amount of 9.10 lacs. In this year no land was

provided in the Jaipur south zone and rural area.

In the year 2009-10 no land was provide by RIICO in any of the Jaipur zone. In the year

2010-11 RIICO Provide 12 areas with 4.56-acre land with the amount of 79.35 lacs in the

sitapura zone. Where as no land was provided in the north, south and rural zone. In the year

2011-12 in sitapura zone 8 areas with 4.79-acre land was given with the amount of 127.25

lacs. Where as no land was provided in the north, south and rural zone. This table clearly

indicates that land was provided by RIICO in the year 2008-09 and the lowest land was

provided in the year 2011-12.

(xvi) WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN SEVERAL INDUSTRIES

Today we find women in different types of industries, traditional as well as non-

traditional, such as engineering, electronics, readymade garments, fabrics, eatables,

handcrafts, doll-making, poultry, plastics, soap, ceramics, printing, toy making, nurseries,

crèches, drugs, textile, designing, dairy, canning, knitting, jewellery design, solar cooker etc.

What motivates women to aspire for career in business is an interesting factor that leads one

towards entrepreneurship. This apart, the challenge and adventure to do something new,

liking for business and wanting to have an independent occupation are some of the attractive

leverage for women. These factors indicate a relatively deeper commitment to entrepreneurial

profession on the part of entrepreneur. Responsibility thrust, due to death or incapacitation of

a near relation, tax benefit for self and for relations are the push factors. In addition, special

qualifications attained for running a concern, identifying the demand from the market,

external motivation, employment to needy and destitute to set up an ancillary unit, business

already in the family are some of the factors which gave stimulus to women entrepreneurs to

start business.

(xvii) WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS DURING FIVE DECADES

Any understanding of Indian women entrepreneurs, of their identity and especially of

their roles will be incomplete without going in to the Indian history where women have

paused, lived and internalized various role models. Some have taken entrepreneurship roles,

while some have opted for employment. Million or others have taken idle stereotype social

roles. The brief description of history of Indian women entrepreneur is shown in Fig. 5.3

Chart 5.3

Women Entrepreneurs During Five Decades

Period Characteristic

During 50’s Compulsion

During 60’s Initiation at History of Indian Individual level

Women During 70’s Aspiration

Entrepreneurship During 80’s Equal Opportunities

During 90’s Empowered

During 21st Century Shinning

a) WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE 50’S

During 1950’s there were women entrepreneurs who-

• Took to creating and managing entrepreneurial activities because of the fact that there

was no income generating male in the family and

• Took roles and responsibilities of the organization the husband had left.

Both the above shifts in the role of women were because of compulsions. But it took

enormous courage and will power to break through the established socio-cultural traditions

and labours. Such women in 50’s were few.

b) WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE 60’S

This was the decade when there was a spread of women education. This was the

period in which women started to venture into small one-women enterprise at home and from

home. But still enterprise was within the four walls of the home and earning was one of the

important motivating factors without disturbing too much the social fabric of the existing

society of that time.

c) WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE 70’S

The decade is considered as a decade of change in the sector of women. The women

of this decade started not only developing their aspirations but also ambitions to do and earn

something for their families. The choice of taking up some kind of job/earning activity as

self-employed person was not out of any compulsion or helplessness but because of their

aspirations and ambitions. Some of the reasons for this shift were due to:

• Women started realizing that income generation is not just the responsibility of male

members of the family.

• Women wanted to be independent and wanted their voices to be heard in family as

well as in the society.

• Women wanted to perform variety of roles.

d) WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE 80’

The decade of 80 witnessed a dramatic shift in this area. The women entrepreneurs of

50’s, 60’s & 70’s had accepted both their social and occupational roles and tried to maintain a

balance between the two. But in 80’s women made personal choices, stood up for their

convictions and had the courage to make up new beginnings. During this decade, many

entered their father or husband’s business as equally contributing partners. But all these were

not well because of hostile society, non-cooperation and support from family, and guilt of not

playing the traditional social roles.

e) WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE 90’S

The women of this era were considered to be capable, competent, self reliant and

assertive. During this decade, number of women took up the challenge of initiating an

enterprise. developing it and nurturing it to grow. There were many women who join hands

with their parents and husbands and contributed a lot. During the decade women developed

their own identify, acquired self esteem and have shown the society that they can tackle the

problems of enterprises single handedly and independently.

f) WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

We just, eventually, left the last century and entered the 21st century. Even though the

world still encounters some crucial issues, when entering the century the optimism is radiated

everywhere. The issue of social imbalance between developing and advanced countries is not

solved yet, even though it tends to become more severe, unfortunately. Let alone issues on

environment and nature preservation that threaten human life in the long run. Meanwhile,

optimistic attitude in entering the 21st century has been declared by many futurists. Alvin

Toffler looks to the 21st century as a phase when human enters a new culture called Third

Wave. The society in this Third Wave is identified as an Information Society that, in terms of

its products, tend to be back to the First Wave, such as energy that could be renewed,

production was not a mass process, migration back to the village and globalization process

due to technology and information advancements. As we all know, according to Toffler the

First Wave is a renewal of the process where humans found and implemented the agricultural

technology.

Meanwhile, Second Wave culture had the characteristics of an industrial society

culture that is highly efficient and tends to give the impression as a greedy economic society.

Although there were some similarities, the Third Wave culture is definitely not a repetition of

the First Wave, as implied so far since it used to be linked to “small is beautiful”. Toffler also

mentioned that the Third Wave is the synthetic form of both previous waves, resulting in

much better quality, more in-depth, comprehensive and thorough than the previous ones. It is

more likely to call the Third Wave as Small within Big is Beautiful. However, the most

important characteristic and most human of this Third Wave culture is the empowerment of

lower people who used to be lost in competition. Consequently, it would eliminate slavery,

imperialism and apartheid in the whole world. Therefore, a monopoly system is not allowed

to develop within this Third Wave culture, in order to keep the market door open for new

comers and innovation. That was what happening with AT and T and Bill Gates (Microsoft)

who had the potential to grow and access 100% of the market in their field. In this case, they

will have to adhere to the regulation prohibiting monopoly.

(xviii) SUCCESSFUL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Although the list of successful women entrepreneurs is quite long, selected

representative women entrepreneurs are mentioned here. Among some accomplished women

entrepreneurs, Smt. Sumati Morarji of Shipping Corporation been seen as beacon to women

entrepreneurs. Smt. Shrayu Daitary of Automobile Radiators, Smt. Yamutai Kirloskar of

Mahila Udyog Limited, Smt. Vimal Pitre, manufacturer of surgical instruments, Smt. Manik

Vandrekar of leather crafts, Smt. Radanika Pradhan of Plastic Industries, Smt. Gogate for

Drugs, Smt. Swati Bhatija in engineering industries, Smt. Prerang Thakore of Jayant

Vitamins Limited, Smt. Nargis Wadia of Inter Publicity, Smt. Neena Malhotra in Exports,

Smt. Rajani Aggarwal in engineering, Smt. Shahanaz Hussain in Beauty Clinical Cosmetic,

Smt. Wadia in Fabrics, Smt. Weheeda Rehman in fast foods all stand out as successful

women entrepreneurs. Other outstanding women entrepreneurs, Smt. Priya Khanna, “Smt.

Savitri Dabi, Smt. Raman Suri, Smt. Madhura Chatrapathy, Smt. Prabha Thakkar, Smt.

Sunanda Pant.

What is more, since the inception of the National Awards to small Entrepreneurs

instituted in 1983, 10 women entrepreneurs have received special recognition awards. They

have attributed their success in their enterprise to hard work, perseverance, dedication,

devotion, determination, integrity and confidence in themselves. However, there are still

others striving to get their enterprises established. Behind every successful women

entrepreneur there is a man and vice versa. Coming to women entrepreneurs in Rajasthan

they ventured into business from the early 70’s. There are a number of women who have

contributed who will be discussed in this chapter how they started their business and how

they have reached this success story.

Mrs. Manju Gupta who is the owner of M/s H.R. Industries which the established in

the year 2001 Mrs. Gupta is a first generation entrepreneurs and owes her success to the RFC.

She states that the RFC was a great economic help to he, but for it her dream of becoming a

reality. Her opinion of the RFC is that her dealings with the RFC has been excellent and

hassle free Mrs. Manju Gupta's unit has a turn over of about 600 lakhs and she has taken two

loans from the corporation he current outstanding amount with the RFC is about 33.14 lakhs

which she says she will repay very soon. When she intends to take more loans for the

betterment of her unit. When we see these achievements of women entrepreneurs and the

financial assistance they got from RFC.

Mrs. Parmeshwari Devi, the owner of Tirupati oil mills of pal is another woman

entrepreneur of a second generation. She came to know about the RFC in the year 2003

where she took a loan of Rs. 10 lakhs to upgrade her business unit, which deals with Tarbuzz

(watermelon) seed processing unit. After repaying this loan, she reapplied for a loan of 13

lakhs for expansion of her unit. The RFC is very happy with the progress she has made. Mrs.

Premlata Gupta is yet another first generation entrepreneurs, who started her business by

taking a loan from RFC in the year 2009-2010 has been 4.59 crores her manufacturing unit is

Omni ice creams initially they used 300 litres of milk and now its about 1000 litres of milk

per day freezing unit. In the year 2003 a ministerial level delegation of Czechoslovakia also

listed this unit. Her company Omni is manufacturing and marketing various ice-creams under

the brand name of "Omni" the net work is established not only in Jaipur but too 16 other

districts of the state the RFC has supported her to go a long way in her business.

Mrs. Pusphlata Baid set up her PET bottles and jars industry in the RIICO industrial

area of Jaipur. Her industry grew into the a profitable business with the help of RFC, Mrs.

Pusphlata Started her industry in the year 2005 and within a span of seven years has shown

shining success the growth turn over is Rs. 159.93 lakhs turnover. The RFC found the

borrower a trustworthy one and the interaction between the lender and borrower has

benefitted both sides. Mrs. Gomanti Devi has set up a Trilook guest house she again is a first

generation entrepreneur who has taken a Rs. 15 lakh loan from the RFC. She is getting good

returns and as a result is able to pay back all her installments in time these women

entrepreneurs feel that its easy to deal with the RFC because the staff support is good, it is not

only a money lending institution.

Gulabo has been born dancing, as she put it, and as a youngster she could remember

herself dancing as a 2 year old. Hailing from the nomadic kalbelia tribe of Rajasthan, she

accompanied her father when he used to beg on the streets of the city, and danced to the tune

of the ‘been’ and the ‘pungi’, the traditional instruments of her art. Her society was

completely against this, but her father stood by her. When she became hungry, he used to

lovingly give her the milk leftover by the snakes to drink. At the age of four however, she

stopped accompanying her father, and got involved in household tasks such as rearing cattle,

cutting wood etc. At the age of nine, she was again allowed to dance on the festival day of

Holi, in the month of phagun (spring), on the roads of the city, and she once again danced to

the tune of the ‘dafli’, the ‘pungi’, and the ‘been’.

When she turned ten, in 1981, she performed at the annual Pushkar Festival in

Rajasthan, along with other girls from the Kalbelia tribe, and was spotted by Himmat Singh

and Tripti Pandey of the Tourism Department, who then called her to perform in a two-day

event. As she was noticed, she was invited to perform in Jaipur, and her society was

completely against her. Her father told society members that he would burn her alive if she

didn’t succeed or went on the wrong path. They reluctantly agreed to this. After this, she

went on to perform in various venues in India and abroad. She still travels, and visits France

twice a month, where she produces music albums with Titi Robin, a French Jazz artist.

Shrimati Sugriva a female entrepreneur from Pali is a woman of low profile, yet had

aspirations to start her own manufacturing unit so, the first took a loan of Rs. 11 Lakhs in the

year 1995, later two more loans were availed by her, she has repaid all her loans timely and

as a result has been able to borrow more from the RFC. Her current turnover Rs. 150 Lakhs,

and says the dues it all to RFC. Shrimati Vidya Beniwal, who is the owner of R.K. colour lab

in Jhunjhunu. She is also a first generation entrepreneur. In 1992 she took her loan from RFC

to start her laboratory, from time to time the took loans to upgrade her business. She has

repaid her loans time to time and holds a clear record with the RFC.

Shrimati Kamala Devi is the owner of Priya bakers at Gayatri Mandir, Baran.

Shrimati Kamala taken a loan in 1995 and has repaid her loan. Now a loan of Rs. 20 Lakhs

has been sanctioned to her, this is because her business is giving good returns. Shrimati Geeta

Kumari of Brija District Alwar, sought financial assistance from the RFC of Rs. 6.57 Lakhs

in the year 2005, she again is a first generation entrepreneur and converted her hotel into a

heritage haveli. The turnover of her hotel for the year 2010 was of Rs. 3500 lakh and the

avoided of 26.10 Lakh for the project initially the had converted her haveli into a hotel on a

small scale, but gradually expanded her business. The RFC found her heritage hotel to be a

prestigious one in Alwar. The RFC staff has been totally satisfied with her work and dealings

with the corporation.

Mrs. Kulsum Malik born on 24th November 1954 in Sardhana district Meerut U.P. in

a muslim family She came to Jaipur with a dream to become a great beautician, for which she

had to work very hard. She began as an apprentice with sattar at Rambagh palace later

branched out on her with a parlour in Jayanti market under the Name of ‘Femina’. After that

Kulsum did not look back, she took a loan to open parlour better equipped with the latest

gadgets. Kulsum also went different beauty schools to improve her skills as a beautician and

today she is a proud owner of a chain of sixteen beauty parlours as well as a factory where

she manufactures her own cosmetic products under the name of Kaya cosmetics. She again is

the first entrepreneur in her family. Her husband has bean a great support to her in achieving

her target.

City Girl Kavita Chaudhary, 27, has been awarded the Emerging woman Entrepreneur

award for the year by the IILM Academy for Higher Learning. Working as a Design Director

for the Jaipur Rugs private Ltd. based in the city, Chaudhary's proficiency in colours and

designs of hand knotted carpets earned the top position in the world market. In 2007 the

company was also awarded the prestigious America's Magnificent Rug award for carpets

with designs and mapping weaved on them. Delving on her background, Chaudhary said, "I

come from a traditional Marwari family from Churu district in the state, where women are

considered followers with no decision-making ability."

Thankfully for her family's open mindedness, she was sent to study Fine Arts in the

USA after schooling from the MGD School. On completing bachelors, Chaudhary joined her

father's business back in the city. "From Jaipur Rugs, I started my career in design

development in 2006. Here, I have a team of 25,000 women from rural India. To make them

literate and more skilled in this field, I compressed the complete computerized design process

by using the same in house team thus upgrading their skills and mindset," she shares.

Researching in design and development, she said, "We are using latest tools and colour. The

demand of our carpets has gone up almost 10 times in the past five years."

The company's continuous progress has attracted the attention of great minds,

management guides and multinational companies. Also included in this team of appreciators

have been Padma Bhushan awardee CK Prahlad. He has researched and done a case study of

the company. "The design team of Ekai, one of the biggest retail chain stores in furniture,

visited our office to learn about our future product development," Chaudhary shares her

vision of the company.

Personally for Chaudhary, "My future plans are to empower women in rural India, so

that they can develop their magnificent skills and make their own decisions." A young Design

Director of Jaipur Rugs, Ms. Kavita Chaudhary has been heading all product developments in

the field of hand knotted rugs and carpets in her company along with working nonstop with

large-scale clients and meeting with a myriad of design demands and products for more than

three years. She has elevated the Company to a new level with her artistic skills and an

aesthetic sense of design and color. She plays a pivotal role in the popularity that is enjoyed

by Jaipur Rugs for its exquisite colors and patterns. Narhet is a village 110 km from Jaipur,

overlooking the majestic Aravali range on one side and lush green landscape on the other. A

15 feet-wide road connects the village to the Delhi-Jaipur highway. It could be mistaken for

just another Indian village off the main highway that tourists pass on road trips around the

country. But this is no ordinary village.

More than 70 percent of the villagers in Narhet earn their living by weaving carpets

and rugs—a traditional art they have learnt and inherited from their forefathers. With a

weaving legacy that goes back to the 1970s, most of them work for Jaipur Rugs Company

Pvt. Ltd. (JRCPL), a 12-year-old rug and carpet making company founded by Nand Kishore

Chaudhary.

Ms. Archana Surana is the Founder and Managing Director of ARCH Academy of

Design. With a vision of imparting design education and developing entrepreneurial skills

among the youth, she laid down the foundation of ARCH Academy of Design in the year

2000. ARCH has been imparting specialized and industrially relevant education and

preparing professionals for the fast changing world of Jewellery Design, Fashion

Technology, Textile Design and Interior Design. ARCH provides an interactive learning

process, which can meet societal needs and value local knowledge systems for a larger

understanding of and respect for human potential and dignity.

Ms. Surana has been successful in the revival of arts and crafts of Rajasthan while

imparting skill-based entrepreneurship training for the development of the artisans, with

government organizations like Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME) Govt. of India;

The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India; Development

Commissioner (Handicrafts) (DCH), Government of India; Entrepreneurship Management

Institution (EMI); Rajasthan Mission on Livelihood (RMOL) and the Rural Non Farm

Development Agency (RUDA) et al. She is the recipient of the prestigious Indira Gandhi

Priyadarshini Award for her contribution in the field of design education in Rajasthan.

The Academy offers Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses in Fashion and Textile

Design, Jewellery Design, Crafts and Accessory Design, Interior Design, Design

Management and Design Communication with National and International Certification.

It is her strong vision to empower individuals throughout their learning pathway in

unleashing their natural potential so that they grow intellectually through life, with a larger

understanding of, and respect for, human potential and dignity.

Her experience over the last 18 years in the field of design education has ensured that the

ARCH Academy of Design imparts specialized and industrially relevant education and

prepares professionals and entrepreneurs for the fast changing world of Design where she has

been responsible for the nurture of more than 3000 young men and women over the last

decade. Supported by the vitality of the vocational and professional training programs she

runs in the field of design she has engineered Skills Upgradation Programs for artisans and

the underprivileged under the HRD Scheme of the Development Commissioner Handicrafts

(DCH), Ministry of Textiles (Government of India) in Fashion Accessories.

Most importantly, her belief in Entrepreneurship and Self Reliance has led her to

guide and support several skill based Entrepreneurship development programs sponsored by a

number of Central and State Government institutions like Micro Small Medium Enterprises

(MSME), Government of India, Department of Science and Technology (DST) Government

of India, Rural Non-Farm Development Agency (RUDA), Rajasthan Mission on Livelihood

(RMOL) etc. Ms. Surana is actively involved in the revival and development of the crafts

across Rajasthan. She has formed the Self Help Group- Kumkum, to motivate needy

women towards economic empowerment, enhance confidence levels and create solidarity

amongst them.

A widely travelled and noted speaker, she is on the board of various government and

industry bodies and has been part of important forums all over the world. As head of the

academy she has represented the institution in various International and National forums

including the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI) annual

conference, and International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid). She has

also been instrumental in the development of links in knowledge sharing and the

strengthening of common curriculum areas within Fashion, Textile and Jewellery Design

with various International academic institutions. Under the funding sanctioned by the British

council she was recently in Scotland at the Cardonald College, Glasgow to finalize

collaboration and signing of MOU between the institutions.

Leela Bordia is one of India’s leading entrepreneurs. She founded Neerja

International in 1978 after discovering a passion for Jaipur’s blue pottery tradition, and the

company remains the first to have continuously experimented and innovated with the craft.

Begun with four craftsmen, Neerja now runs several blue pottery units that employ more than

500 craftsmen, thus also contributing towards social change through its work. Mrs. Bordia

has received numerous awards both at home and abroad, and has held distinguished positions

including the Executive of the Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of

Handicrafts Association.

The vibrant colour, graceful forms and distinctive feel of the Blue Pottery of Jaipur all

have a tale to tell – of itinerant craft traditions that stretched from China to Egypt, the tumult

of history that brought them to Jaipur, the fortuity of enlightened patronage, and the talent of

its practitioners. Jaipur Blue Pottery: A Tribute is the first serious attempt to examine and

contextualize both past and current practice within a craft that is synonymous with Jaipur.

Facsimile reproductions of historic documents are juxtaposed against personal accounts of

today’s creators and their collaborators, revealing the continuity of craftsmanship and

innovation that runs through this tradition.

Source: www.neerjainternational.co.in

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Neerja International is the largest Manufacturer and Exporter of Blue Pottery in India.

It’s Showroom and Warehouse is located in Jaipur City. Leela Bordia founded the company

in 1978. She has been instrumental in creating 1000 unique designs and more than 300 Blue

Pottery products. Neerja International is actively involved in supporting thousands of Jaipur

craftsmen and their families. National Outstanding Export Awards for 1993-1996 and 1998-

2003 Leela Bordia received the Best Woman Entrepreneur Award in 1991. Featured in World

and National Magazines and Newspapers: Vogue, Marwar, Femina, Inside Outside Indian

Express, Discover India Statesman, Flair, Inside Outside, Sunday Mail, The Times of India,

Rajasthan Patrika, Official Magazine of the Bead Association of California, Business in Asia,

Dainik Bhaskar, and Bangalore Times. Various awards from International Societies

commending Neerja's support of the local craftsmen and their families.

Leela Bordia was born in 1950 in Calcutta, India, into a well-off Jain family

Rajasthan. Her father was an executive in a car factory and her mother worked with Nobel

Peace Prize winner, Mother Teresa, amongst the poor and destitute in Calcutta. Her mother's

experiences made a deep impression on the young Leela. In 1968, as Leela completed a

Bachelor of Science degree at Rajasthan University, her mother died at a young age. Six

years, later Leela Married an engineer, Kamal Bordia, and moved to Jaipur, where she

worked as a teacher at a Montessori School. Although some people in her family and

community would have preferred her to stay at home, her husband and mother-in-law

supported her decision to go out to work. In 1976, she gave birth to a daughter.

By 1978, Leela Bordia was visiting local villages around Jaipur to engage in social

welfare activities. The problems of the poor were huge. She did not have sufficient financial

resources to organize any long-term programs. However, having noticed the traditional Blue

Pottery work in the villages, Leela Bordia wondered if this art form could be marketed more

widely as a way of improving the standard of living of villagers. She knew little of ceramics,

so while visiting her brother in the United States, she undertook a one-month course in

pottery techniques and designs. Leela Bordia recognized that Blue Pottery would have

innovative designs to appeal to a large market. In 1980, she established Neerja International

with four craftspeople, two men and two women. In 1981, she became founding secretary of

the Jaipur Rotary Club. Leela Bordia completed another ceramics and pottery course, this

time in Mexico. Back in Jaipur, the business continued to grow.

In 1991, Leela Bordia won an award from the national organization Women

Entrepreneurs and Executives (India). A Swiss exhibition of handicrafts from around the

world visited Neerja International. Leela Bordia continued to see her company succeed

internationally and the standard of living of its workers improve. Work Practices Neerja

International's workers work in their home villages, in ways similar to those of their parents,

and grandparents. Their work is carried out on a contract basis. They deliver the finished

products to central office. Craftspeople pay for the material they need through Neerja's low-

interest loans, paid off with their earnings from producing the Blue Pottery. Neerja

International supports its workers in other ways as well. It provides assistance in organizing

the life insurance, financial help for weddings (which can be a huge financial burden in

traditional Indian culture) and support for widows and families. It also provides medical

services to all workers. Neerja International's work practices also bring broader benefits to the

craftspeople:

Normal village life is not disrupted. In many other Indian villages, men have to go

away to work in factories in the cities. The culture and tradition of the villages is not only

preserved but also strengthened, as the living standard of the people improves. Traditional

artistic skills in Blue Pottery are passed on to future generations, rather than being lost

because young people leave the village. Young people now see a future in continuing the

craft. Innovative and imaginative craftspeople can flourish because they are not part of a

factory production process. Because the work is labour intensive, it encourages employment.

Worker's income depends on the amount they can produce.

The company also flourishes on the work practices it has established. Capital

equipment costs are low because there is no need for a factory or expensive equipment.

Operating costs are low because the work is labor-intensive. Providing the workers are

willing, changes to designs can be made relatively easily, without expensive re-tooling.

Because the company supports its workers and their families, workers have a stake in keeping

the business profitable and growing. Because innovative and imaginative craftspeople can

flourish, new ideas, for products can be produced. Innovation is an essential part of Neerja

International.

Thakurani Jyotika Kumari Diggi, wife of Thakur Ram Pratap Singh Diggi’s steered

the family in another direction after 1988. Beginning with a few small changes, she

transformed the house. Ironically, even as much of the Diggi House remained off-limits,

people occasionally cut through its corridors as a shortcut. The daughter of a Navy officer

with relatively modern values, Jyotika also put an end to the prevailing purdah system in the

house. And soon enough, the house was changed into a hotel in 1991, and named Hotel Diggi

Palace to better attract tourists. The timing was perfect. The year marked the beginning of

economic liberalization in the country. Now serving as the main venue for the biggest literary

festival in Asia, the Jaipur Literature Festival, the palace accommodates thousands of new

visitors every year—a fitting redemption for its less welcoming past.

(xix) SIGNIFICANT ROLES OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Optimistic expression was also pointed out by another futurist such as John Naisbitt in

his famous book 'MEGATREND 2000' that mentioned ten big tendency in the 21st century,

which are: global economy booming, renaissance in art, social free market, global life style,

welfare privatization, Pacific rim upsurge, women’s role in leadership, biology century,

religious upsurge and individual victory. Although not all futurists’ predictions mentioned

above were materialized, especially the one on the Pacific rim country upsurge after the

economic crisis, many of them are proven to be close to the empiric fact nowadays. One of

them that is very interesting is regarding the progress of women’s role in business and that

21st century is the century for women. The requirements for this are the ability to empower

them to become the potential strength. Also, the availability of human resources those are

able to adapt technology to handle nature and the environment, and have access to world

markets. Those all will then, in due course, enhance economic growth. Economic

Development Economic development of a country is usually determined by the growth of per

capita income. However, other than per capita income, in the essence of modern economic

growth, we also know that, on average, it might be measured with other fundamental changes

that occur. Such changes are, among other things, the way people live, as they are more likely

to move to cities and work in factories, no longer in farms. That happens as the household

industries tend to decline and replaced by larger enterprises.

Other indicators that we might see are the tendency of the families to reduce the

number of children, so the birth rate begins to fall. Development could be seen also from the

point of view of employment progress, capital, business volume and consumption. In other

words, economic development can be seen in the structural change of the society, and implies

more than just economic growth. Gillis, Perkins, Roemer and Snodgrass (Economics of

Development, 1996) stated that a key element in economic development is that the people of

the country must be major participants in the process that brought about these changes in

structure... Participation in the process of development implies participation of those benefits.

If growth only benefits a tiny, wealthy minority, whether domestic or foreign, it is not

development. Women’s Role in Economic Contribution In light of the explanation about

economic development cited above, I would like to cite Naisbitt' and Aburdene’s statement

that the progress of women’s role in several During this century women are emerging as a

force to recon with. Many of the telecom, Information Technology (IT) and Finance

industries are headed and controlled by women. In fact, the children of 90's started opting her

mother's profession instead of fathers etc. Growing industrialization and globalization, social

legislation, speedy urbanization etc. are the major contributing factors leading for upsurge in

women entrepreneurship. Women have shifted from the kitchen, food, and handicrafts

industries to non-traditional industries like IT, organic, etc. A day is not far off when women

will be shining in mass in the area of entrepreneurship

(xx) PROBLEMS FACED BY WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

The basic problem or difficulty of a women entrepreneur is that she is a woman this

pertains to her responsibility towards family, society and work. With joint families breaking

up, many women simply don’t have the support of elders. Women have been confronted by

such dilemmas ever since they started leaving home for the work place. On the other hand,

the attitude of society towards her and constraints in which she has to live and work are not

very conducive. In spite of the constitutional equality, in practice the attitude of men is not

only tradition-bound but also even of those who are responsible for decision-making,

planning and research is not of equality. They still suffer from male reservations. This

attitude of reservation creates difficulties and problems at all levels, i.e. family support,

training, banking, licensing and marketing. Women in rural areas have to suffer still further.

They have to face not only resistance or reservation from men but also from elderly women

who are ingrained in the attitude of inequality. In rural areas joint families are still the norm.

The overbearing presence of elders restrain even young men from venturing out, so one can

imagine how much a young girls needs to put up to become economically independent.

Though in rural areas women are working along with men since times immemorial, their

contribution in monetary terms remains unaccounted, or if at all accounted, it is given a very

low value. They are mostly engaged in low-paid, backbreaking agricultural activities or act as

helpers in handicrafts.

It is not that women do not have skills or capacity but they are not properly trained or

initiated in craftsmanship because it is taken as a taboo-it is wasted because when she gets

married she takes away the skill with her. Therefore, a woman can only act as a helper. She

was not allowed to function independently. Training is basic for any entrepreneurship.

Facilities are available, many institutions have been imparting training under various schemes

but again social attitude do not appreciate this independence and this keep women away from

them both in urban and rural areas.

At the government level, the licensing authorities and labour officers and sales tax

inspectors ask all sorts of questions like what technical qualifications you have, how will you

manage labourers, how will you manage both house and business, does your husband

approve of it and the like? Most important question is asked regarding strategies for

marketing both of new material and of finished goods. To market her product she has to be at

the mercy of middlemen who eat up a big chunk of profit. Besides the middlemen try to

exploit women entrepreneurs at both ends. They deny her discount or give the minimum

discount in the purchase of raw material and on the other hand, try to extract maximum credit

discount and commission on purchase of finished products from her.

If she decides to eliminate middlemen, if involves a lot of running about. Secondly, in

these days of stiff competition, a lot of money is required for using advertisement. If the

product happens to be consumer then it takes time to win people away from other products

and make this product popular. And then there is a tendency to always question the quality of

the product produced by women entrepreneurs, though many agree that they are most sincere

in maintaining the quality and time schedule.

Chart 5.4

Problems Faced By Women Entrepreneurs

a) PERSONAL

Any entrepreneur whether male or female is first of all an individual and has its own

plus or minus points. Being women is on one hand is positive in the attributes of dedication,

focused etc. but negative in attributes of submissive, dependent etc. Physical structure wise

also there is difference between men and women. Some of the personal problems associated

with women entrepreneurs are:

• Family responsibility.

• Limitation of undertaking frequent traveling (Mobility).

• Lack of sufficient education.

• Power of limited risk taking

• Low need for achievement.

• Lack of confidence.

b) SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

Socio-cultural environment plays an important role in the success of an enterprise.

Some of the specific problems associated with women entrepreneurs are:

• Male dominated social structure of the society

• Autocratic attitude of officers of different departments

• Indifferent attitude of elders in the family

• Non-availability of women friendly facilities at different locations

• Insufficient laws and regulations related to women employment.

c) FINANCE

Finance is one of the greatest factors responsible for entrepreneurship. Woman

entrepreneurs always suffer from inadequate financial resources and working capital.

Women generally do not possess immovable properties and assets in their names and

therefore cannot be in a position to provide security and guarantee for loan. Some fo the

specific problems associated with women entrepreneurs are:

• Lack of access to external funds due to security and credit

• Complicated procedure of bank and other loans.

• Inordinate delay in obtaining loans.

• Lack of confidence of loan disbursing in organizations on women for continuance of

enterprise.

d) INDUSTRY

Women entrepreneurs do not have a large organizational set up to organize, run

and control their enterprise. Thus, they have to face number of problems related to

promotion and success of enterprise. Some of these are:

• Cut throat competition.

• Scarcity of raw material.

• High prices of raw material (availability of raw material at market rate)

• High cost of production.

• Non-availability of infra-structural facilities for sell and marketing.

• Lack of training facilities in specialized fields.

• Besides above, some other problems can be -

• Non-availability of electricity at site, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas

• Non availability of skilled and semi-skilled manpower at work site for a specific job

work

• Lack of education and training in areas other than the field

e) GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

In the country like ours, government support through programs and policies play an

important role in entrepreneurship development particularly with women. Since woman

has started entering into this venture recently, great deal of their success will depend on

the support of Government. Some of the problems associated are :

• Non - availability of single window policy

• No clear cut policy of Government incentives

f) SOME OTHER BASIC PROBLEMS FACED BY WOMEN

ENTREPRENEURS:-

• The first problem is that the greatest determent to women entrepreneurs is that

they are women. It’s a kind of patriarchal male dominated society. Male members

feel that it’s a big risk financing ventures run by women.

• Even financial institutions are skeptical to given loans to women entrepreneurs, as

they doubt their abilities. Bankers put unrealistic and unreasonable securities to

get loans to women entrepreneurs. According to a report by the limited National

Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) 12 “Despite evidence those

women’s loans repayment rates are higher than men’s women still face more

difficulties in obtaining credit”, after due to discriminatory attitudes of banks and

informed banding groups.

• Financial assistance of some kind is essential to launch their venture; it can be in a

formal way from a loan from the names or from or savings account. Women

entrepreneurs suffer at this level, because they have inadequate industrial

resources and working capital. The inability is to provide tangible security they

are unable to get funds. Very few women have tangible property in their hands.

• Another great obstacle in women from becoming successful entrepreneurs is that

family obligations at time do not allow them to put in their maximum time and

this deterrent is in developing cultures. Stracher Hen had very rightly stated

“Having primary responsibility for children, home and older dependent family

members, few women can devotes all their time and energies to their business”13.

The financial institutions discourage women entrepreneurs on this belief that

women can leave their business and revert to becoming housemen again; therefore

they are not very safe or secure to be given loans. So a number of women either

depends on their own savings or manage to take loans from friends and relations.

• It is also believed that women entrepreneurs have low-level management skills.

They primarily depend on office staff and intermediates to get things done for

them, more so the marketing side, it should be kept in mind that the intermediaries

while selling keep a big chunk of profit for themselves. Marketing are means

mobility and confidence in dealing with the outside world. Women kept out of it

because of social conditions. Even if they do venture they are in control of the

male family members.

• When it comes to male female competition it is found that since women, despite

giving their service delivering on time, and keeping things in order, their mobility

and freedom restrict them. They are unable to move out at night and even to some

regions, they are thus slightly backward compared to men.

• The knowledge of technology changes, know how, and education level of the

people are significant factors that affect business. The delivery rate of women in

India is found out to be less than men. Many of the women in developing

countries lack the education needed to spur successful entrepreneurship. They are

not savvy of new technology and are unskilled in their use, and at times unable to

gain the necessary training. Lack of access to technical training prevent the

technology from being beneficial or even able to females 14

• The low level of education and confidence leads to low level achievement and

advancement motivation among Indian women to engage in business to engage to

business operation and running a business concern.

• Women entrepreneurs are adversely affected by the high business cost according

to Vikas. “The installation of machineries during expansion of the productive

capacity and like similar factors dissuades the women entrepreneurs from

venturing into new areas 15.

(xxi) REMEDIES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF WOMEN

ENTREPRENEURS

To promote women entrepreneurs in India, certain measures are already initiated.

But these measures needs to be re-looked again and some viable remedies are to be placed

in the deal with the problems of women entrepreneurs. Some of the measures that may be

adopted are:

a) Provision of separate finance cells for women: In various financial and public sector

organizations that are providing subsidiaries and loans for industries, there should be a

provision of separate finance cells to deal which financial problems of women

entrepreneurs. These cells should be taken care by women only.

b) Establishment of Marketing Cooperatives: Marketing of the products is one of the

biggest problems particularly with women entrepreneurs. To promote their products. It

is therefore, essential to provide assistance in this regard. It should be the endeavor of

marketing cooperatives to assist in:

• Displaying the product.

• Final finishing of the product, if required

• Fixing the price of the product

• Pack the product properly and in a decent way

• Provide the possible locations with the list of purchasers/traders etc.

(c) Supply of raw materials: Quality, quantity and availability of raw material affect

the performance of enterprise. To concentrate fully on the development and

production of the product, it is necessary to ensure availability of raw material in

right quality and quantity to the women entrepreneurs. government should promote

and help in ensuring the availability of good quality raw material as per the

requirement. This will not only help the women entrepreneur to get the raw

material but will also help the women entrepreneur to get the appropriate price of

the material.

(d) Creating social awareness through education: India is regarded as a country of

it's rich traditional values and ethos and women is still considered s a human being

whose major role is to keep herself busy in providing food and upbringing family.

In the changed socio-cultural scenario throughout the world, it is necessary to bring

positive change in this direction. Elders, particularly women folk need to be made

aware through education programmes about the potential of girls and their due role

in society. Efforts should be directed towards increasing the education level of the

adult and young female. Some of the strategies that could be adopted are:

• Making education for girls free and compulsory

• Conducting adult social literacy programmes for female.

• Organizing career awareness forums and meets at different location s and levels.

• Forming self-help groups.

• Enacting plays of successful women entrepreneurs.

• Organizing women fairs.

(e) Providing Training facilities: Developing right kind of personality, attitude and

skill is one of the important and essential aspects for the success of an enterprise. If

provided proper kind of training, women can become good entrepreneur. Some of

the training strategies could be:

• Organizing part time training.

• Conducting training in the area of personality and attitudes.

• Organizing training in different areas of industries.

(xxii) RESEARCH ON WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

The research conducted on women entrepreneurs is quite extensive in developed

countries, especially in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, but there is not

much knowledge of women and the entrepreneurs in Latin America. Specific studies have

been conducted, however, of women entrepreneurs in France, Singapore, Russia, Ireland,

Puerto Rico, China, Turkey, Hungry, South Africa, Israel, Poland, Germany, India,

Lithuania, Greece and Australia.

In order to analyze the main trends emerging from these studies, articles have been

classified according to Gartner’s (1985) "conceptual framework for the creation of new

enterprises: namely the concepts regarding the individual, the environment, the

organization and the processes"16. Shows the map of the literature and presents the main

trends that have arisen from the research on women entrepreneurs and their enterprises.

The individual aspects refer to the person involved in creating the new organization and

include demographic information, background, motivation, working and educational

experiences, as well as psychological aspects. The organization refers to the type of

enterprise created, which includes its strategy, organizational characteristics, the type of

enterprise, structure and the problems faced. The process considers the actions taken by

the entrepreneurs to stat up the enterprise, and includes the identification of opportunities,

the search for resources, the construction of the organization, the administration of the

enterprise, and the response to the environment. Environment refers to the situation

affecting and influencing the organization, and includes legal, political, government sector

and technological aspects.

Most studies on women entrepreneurs were focused on the individual. The initial

studies were devoted to learning about the background and organizational characteristics

of women’s enterprises. However, most recent studies consider wider research on the

problems faced by women entrepreneurs, their administrative practices, perceptions of

women as administrators, their abilities for achieving success, gender differences, conflicts

between their enterprise and family roles, and the vision they have for their enterprises.

Methodologically, most studies are based on surveys and case studies, which are mainly

descriptive and use available samples since there are no databases on women

entrepreneurs, and they frequently do not associate research with theory. Other

methodological issues include the lack of instrument validation, the existence of a sole

source of information, a tendency to generalize behavior and characteristics among

different types of women (women who create new enterprises, women who take charge of

the family business, and difference in age, industries and size) (Brush, 1992). Despite all

these issues, such studies have produced knowledge upon which theories of women

entrepreneurial activity are based and are being further developed.

CONCLUSION

Today, there is a greater awakening among women. Given an opportunity, they will deliver

the results. In education, they have not only excelled but also become top makers. Likewise,

in office and industry, many have shown brilliant results. Even in rural India with education,

women have shown better performance. Educating women is absolutely essential in

straightening her personality. The need of the hour is to provide an opportunity in a

conducive atmosphere free from gender differences. The need for awareness motivation to be

an active member of the society and courage to correct the faults or make counterparts are

great challenges today. After going through the importance and problems of women

entrepreneurs, we see that the laws of the country state that the women are guaranteed equal

rights of participation in political process and equal opportunities and rights in education and

employment. But it's unfortunate that the government sponsored development activities have

benefited only a small section of women, who are urban middle class women. If this is

benefited to rural and other deprived section of women, then only we can be assured that

women entrepreneurs in India will be as successful as other developed countries.

Empowering women entrepreneurs is essential for achieving the goals of sustainable

development and the bottlenecks hindering their growth must be eradicated to entitle full

participation in business. Thamaraisely stated that "it is a short cut to rapid economic growth

and development”17 - Entrepreneurship among women, no doubt improves the wealth of the

nation in general and of the family in particular. Women today are more willing to take up

activities that were once considered the preserve of men, and have proved that they are

second to no one with respect to contribution to the growth of the economy. Women

entrepreneurship must be moulded properly with entrepreneurial traits and skills to meet the

changes in trends, challenges global markets and also be competent enough to sustain and

strive for excellence in the entrepreneurial arena. Woman is bestowed with immense moral

strength than her male counterparts. This has enabled her to tide over the adversities and be a

survivor. She can face any challenge, provided she gets assurance and a rock solid support

from her family and peers.

For the holistic empowerment of women, the social, economic and political aspects impacting

on them must converge effectively. The cultural development of the society has caused a

significant progress in the status of women. More and more women are becoming financially

independent and this has had a remarkable impact on the country’s economy. Creation of

self-help groups in rural India has given an opportunity to the women, not only to add to the

family income but also contribute to the GDP of national economy. A study of UNICEF

conducted in 2005 has acknowledged the contribution of the women members of SHG in the

pursuit of education, health requirement and hygienic food intake in the family. It has indeed

improved the quality of life.

Our society is undergoing a change for the better. Until and unless the term ‘weaker sex’

which is denigrating for the women is erased out totally, and a level playing field is created in

the workplace, we cannot chart our path to prosperity. Family plays a pivotal role in the

development of society. Management starts in the family itself. It is the family, upbringing

and culture, which shape up an individual’s overall personality. As it is truly said, men and

women are the two wheels of the family cart. To maintain a balance, there should be equal

participation of both the sexes. Women should be given their due respect and not treated as

an object. Family development necessitates a mother’s key role in shaping up an individual’s

character. If it were not for the faulty culture and upbringing, we would not have been

witness to juvenile delinquency, female feticide and other such vices, which are detrimental

to the socio economic fabric.

Management starts from home. Human resource development in the corporate has its root

from the individual personality development and vice versa. An effective manager is the one

who can take along the manpower and steer towards achieving the corporate objectives by

creating an amiable working environment. This positivity manifests in the broad picture of

national progressiveness. A woman is the centre point in the family. The values and culture

she imbibes on her progenies has a chain reaction effect on the culture and values of an

organization, which her children may head.

Tips for Women Entrepreneurs

• Start a business that works for you and your personal life

• Research the product/ service

• Assess the market

• Start business with adequate funds

• Do networking

• Consult with professionals